After years of "yes", "no" and "maybe", the venerable and never-wrong (just ask them) WALL STREET JOURNAL reports on 6-26-06 that next week, DaimlerChrysler will officially announce that the small SMART "fortwo" will be going on-sale in the USA next year.
We don't believe all this news, here at THE CAR NUT BLOG. We think the fortwo has been considered
for the US before several times, and always it's been considered just too small for doing battle with big rigs on the Interstates. SMART makes larger vehicles in Brazil, and was in the midst of developing a larger, only-for-USA model when DCX shut that project down last year. But still, through Autoblog, WALL STREET JOURNAL and Winding Road, it's announced that the SMART fortwo will be launched in the U.S. as early as next year. CEO Dieter Zetsche is reportedly hoping that U.S. sales could help SMART turn a profit, which it has failed to do for DaimlerChrysler since its inception in 1998. WSJ says that an agreement has been reached with a U.S. distributor to sell the SMART car in major metropolitan markets on the East and West coasts where small car sales are strongest. Though the exchange rate is not in DCX's favor, the company is hoping that high gas prices will make its tiny car attractive to consumers.
Comments